Stanley G. Tate, founder of the Florida Prepaid College Program, which has enabled more than 450,000 students to attend college, has been selected as the recipient of the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club’s 2018 Michael Shores Citizen of the Year Award.
Tate will receive the prestigious award at the 38th Biscayne Bay Gala on Sept. 29 at the Miami Hilton Airport Blue Lagoon. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception and silent auction, followed by a dinner and live auction at 7:30 p.m. The cocktail reception will feature an ensemble from the South Florida Youth Symphony, one of Florida’s leading youth orchestras.
“As a visionary, Stanley Tate has fought to put higher education within the reach of the average Florida family,” said Carmen Calzon, Biscayne Bay Kiwanis president. “Through his tireless work, nearly 500,000 students have been able to go to college using the Prepaid Program he founded and more than 1.8 million contracts have been purchased, thus ensuring his legacy for years to come.
“Anyone whose kids have attended college — or will attend college — using the Florida Prepaid College Program owes Stanley Tate a debt of gratitude. The Biscayne Bay Kiwanis is honored to name him our Citizen of the Year,” Calzon said.
Past recipients of this award include Dolphins founder Joe Robbie, coach Jimmy Johnson, newsman Ralph Renick, Miami Commissioner Athalie Range, U.S. Rep. William “Bill” Lehman, former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr., Baseball Hall of Fame member Andre Dawson, Super Bowl Host Committee chair Rodney Barreto, Miami Dolphins’ Nat Moore, child advocate Lauren Book, attorney Ron Lowy, car magnate Mario Murgado and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Dr. Pedro Greer Jr., U.S. Rep. Dante B. Fascell, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
“I am honored to be recognized by the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club and join such a distinctive list of recipients,” Tate said. “This is a great organization which serves the most deserving children of Miami’s inner city and has — for more than 60 years — positively impacted the lives of thousands of those children and their families.”
Tickets to the event expected to be attended by more than 400 of South Florida’s business and community leaders are $150 ($1,500 for a table of 10).
For more information on table purchases, event sponsorship, or program advertising, contact the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club at 305-814-2225 or send email to gala@biscaynebaykiwanisclub.org.
